London/Scotland
Apr. 18th, 2005 10:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancerjodiA directory of photos from our vacation can be found here: http://www.diabolis.net/gallery/index.php?cat=19 . They aren’t captioned, so let me know if you have a question about any of them.
The experience (a long one)
Wed 4/6
After an uneventful flight we arrived in Heathrow and took the tube out to Victoria Station. Our first lesson about London: handicapped train stations are rare. We pulled our luggage up many flights of stairs, got a bit lost finding our hotel, and then had to lug said heavy luggage up 4 flights of narrow/twisted hotel stairs (the rest of the trip when lugging luggage we went the taxi route). Note to self: bring less clothing next time and utilize a Laundromat. The http://www.hotellondon.co.uk/ was as clean but small/shabby as expected but it would do. After dropping our luggage we found dinner around the corner http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-457.php . It was very good, remarkably like Erawan of Siam on Moody Street, which is always a good thing!
Thurs 4/7
After a complimentary continental breakfast we headed to do the hop on/off tour with http://www.theoriginaltour.com/ , sitting for 2 hours on the bus to first acquaint ourselves with the city and later checking out http://www.westminster-abbey.org/ and http://www.aboutbritain.com/TrafalgarSquare.htm in more detail. Since the http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/jserv/cafe/index.jsp wasn’t serving anything substantial for lunch by the time we got there (3ish) we checked out http://www.thesouklondon.co.uk/ nearby instead. Brian almost bought a “Mind the Gap” underground t-shirt http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/4761/90349 at an outdoor market around the corner but decided that was just a bit too touristy. We walked over to http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/ and got ½ price theater tickets for http://queenonline.com/wewillrockyou/ for that evening. After further exploring (and much getting lost in an upscale shopping area, soaked in the rain) we had time to get back to the hotel and have a quick change into nicer clothes before taking a cab to the theater in Soho (we were worried taking the tube would make us late). Brian and I both really loved the show, me being a big fan of musicals and rock music (and Queen in particular), Brian liking the music and ‘differentness’ of the whole thing, and the general theme of the show was a good one. When’s the last time you saw a standing ovation, people singing out loud and encores at a Broadway musical? We picked up a souvenir book and the soundtrack from it we loved it so much! We followed up our dinner feast of show popcorn/chocolate with bagels from a shop in Victoria Station before walking back to the hotel and falling into bed. It had been a busy day.
Fri 4/8
This was the day we did our bulk of London Sightseeing. After Breakfast (watching the Pope’s funeral on the TV) we tubed it out to the http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/tower_home.asp and spent a good 3 or so hours checking out the beefeaters, stonework, jewels and armor. This place had a very strong sense of oldness and sadness for me, more than I can express. Usually I don’t get a great sense for feelings of places but this was quite strong. Its at the Tower I first got a strong understanding of how really insignificant we all are in the grand scheme of things. More could be said too about this, but I’m trying to keep this brief. When we finished exploring a good (but expensive for what it was) lunch was had in their café and we headed on further adventures. We visited the http://www.vam.ac.uk/ and saw a good deal of stonework and tapestry (alas, a lot of rooms were closed for renovations). Since we were in the area, we also did some shopping, stopping of course at http://www.harrods.com/Cultures/en-GB/default.htm. I took the plunge and bought my first outfit from http://www.agentprovocateur.com (not work safe). Considering their prices and the exchange rate I paid almost $400 on a bra and panty set! It was tough, and Tiamatlady still can’t believe I did it, but I did. That was the one souvenir I wanted from London. The store clerks dress in little low cut/short dresses with bras and stockings showing and breathily sell things to helpless men in their store. The whole experience was a lot of fun and I’m glad I had the guts to finally do it. From Knightsbridge we’d head to the illustrious Camden Town for shopping. Brian picked up some New Rocks, and I saw lots of other goodies for sale but I was really hurting from that lingerie purchase. Still early enough to get in to their extended hours, we headed from Camden to the http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ for some Egyptian art; most notable was seeing the Rosetta stone. We consulted with our Rick Steve’s guide and found a neat restaurant nearby for Indian, http://www.sohospice.co.uk/ . The food was very flavorful, reasonably priced considering where we are, and had reasonable portions. It had been one crazy day!
Sat 4/9
After another continental breakfast we headed to Victoria Station on foot to meet up with our mini-coach. Today we’d go with Astral Tours on their http://www.astraltravels.co.uk/uk-london-tours/bath_stonehenge_tour.htm . Our guide was great, Lacock was lovely (the setting for some of the Harry Potter movies), the Baths were – VERY green. In Bath we had some time to kill so we had lunch at http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/ . With some small stops in between at scenic vistas and toilets we finally made our way to Stonehenge. Here among these massive 18 foot stones one feels even more insignificant, and I wonder what of the theories (if any) really explain the meaning of the things. We picked up a neat coffee table book in their gift shop about said theories, construction of stone circles, and other similar relics in the UK. After wandering around all over the place in Soho, Chinatown, Piccadilly we settled on a dinner at the Stockpot http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london/D39268.html . It was our first traditional British meal on the trip, mushy peas and all. We chatted a bit with the guys at the table next to us about what we were up to, and asked for suggestions of what to do later that night. Neither of us was feeling the http://www.slimelight.net/Sportal/ love and as far as we knew B-Side wasn’t happening. We couldn’t find anything of too much interest in http://www.timeout.com/london/ and our table mates didn’t have any good suggestions beyond ‘go to a pub’, though that’s less than exciting for a couple of non-drinkers (we’ll find a trend in our lack of night activities in Edinburgh later). After wandering a bit more (tired from our long day tour) we retired to the room – no clubbing was had in London.
Sun 4/10
This was our travel day to Edinburgh. After breakfast we took a cab to King’s Cross, took the obligatory photo at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/atlas/britain/atlas-b-platform.html , and boarded a train to Scotland with http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER . The ride was lovely, and with not a lot of effort we made it to Waverly station in about 4 or so hours and took the 10 minute cab ride to our inn, http://www.turret.clara.net/ . This place was SO much nicer than the Caswell in London (and cheaper too). The room was comfy, all of the beds had teddy bears on them, large bathroom, lots of amenities, full (yummy) breakfast, and helpful, informative innkeepers. Go here, seriously! It was about a mile walk from the Royal Mile with a bus stop around the corner if we were lazy. After getting in, resting and refreshing Brian and I celebrated our anniversary dinner at http://www.thewitchery.com/foodv3.html . This was actually the nicest place Brian and I have ever eaten at, and we enjoyed it quite a bit. I tried Monkfish for the first time (served *with* pork, weird). We savored dessert, Brian getting the crème Brule and finding that consisted of 3 small different flavored ones, complete with 3 spoons. We walked the Royal Mile a bit on the Old Town side before heading back to the Inn for some alone time, complete with some modeling of the Agent Provocateur goods (bow chicka bow wow).
Mon 4/11
Thus begins the world wind of the Scotland Holiday! First we walked to the top of the Royal Mile in Old town and spend a few hours in http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail?propertyID=PL_121 . After much drooling we ventured into the http://www.frommers.com/destinations/edinburgh/S31272.html . I pondered picking up an Anderson Tartan blanket but they didn’t have any (though they had tons of other Anderson stuff). Frankly too, the colors aren’t our thing. We’d leave Scotland buying no Anderson plaid (but, getting some Anderson jewelry and a write up of the history of the clan). A guide would later tell us that the Anderson’s came to Scotland from Scandinavia (as did many other clans), neat! We found http://www.hilarysbazaar.com/ and spent a good deal of time in there chatting and me trying on tribal outfits (I got a hip scarf and skirt – there were lot of lovely things but the exchange rate was killing us). She’s the only retail store for Middle Eastern dance stuff in the entire UK! I found her via the LJ belly dance community. We’d spend the rest of the day wandering around the old mile, going in every conceivable shop that sold kilts so Brian could finally pick one out (very simply, black – but real wool and made in Scotland as opposed to the Pakistani Polyester flammable knock-offs that were for sale for 50 pounds all over the place). Dinner was had at http://www.pizzaexpress.co.uk/indexm.htm (very California Pizza Kitchen like) and I had anchovies for the first time in a long time. We finished the night with a tour of the town and underground vaults with Auld Reekie http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/cityguide.cfm?type=tourist&vid=1753 . It was neat to go into the underground vaults under the South Bridge and learn a bit of their dark history. Later we’d go into underground streets and a related haunted cemetery. On a related note, we picked up a great book describing this history titled “The Town Below the Ground” http://www.blackhart.uk.com/bbja/index.html . Tiamatlady is borrowing it now but it will be up for grabs for others to check out (if you promise you’ll give it back). Later we’d take a haunted cemetery tour with the company started by the author.
Tues 4/12
On Tuesday we walked down to the other end of the Royal Mile and checked out the Palace and old Abby http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page559.asp . After browsing in shops on that end of the street we hit Clever Dick’s for lunch, more pub food but good http://www.belowthebeltfoodco.com/ . It was time to visit the Penguins at http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/ . They have the largest collection of penguins in the world (!) and allow them out for a penguin parade at 2:00 PM. We made it through about ½ of the zoo when we decided to get inside somewhere away from the cold and consistently coming rain. Bussing it back to the Princes Street, we checked out three of the free museums, the Royal Museum, Museum of Scotland and the Royal Portrait Museum http://www.nms.ac.uk/home/index.asp (I got to finally see some Degas, Renoir and Dali at the later). With time to kill we had muffins and hot chocolate at Chocolate Soup (behind the Tron Kirk, I can’t find a URL). We went home to dress for a night out at a metal club, had very bland (but still not bad) Mexican food at http://www.viva-mexico.co.uk/ and headed to a nearby coffee shop http://www.elephant-house.co.uk/elephant.htm (where JK Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter book) to meet up with Graham (Brian’s friend and old co-worker from Cambridge, UK) and his SO. The place was great, though unfortunately closed at around 10:00. We parted ways with Sarah and headed with Graham to check out the “Metalhedz” night at http://www.opiumrocks.com/ . OK, the place itself was comfy, drinks were cheap, but I wouldn’t call the Red Hot Chilli Peppers old mid-80’s Aerosmith and Jane’s Addiction metal (mind you I like all this music, but it’s not metal). We sat on the first floor chatting for a bit and Graham took off since he had to work in the morning. Brian and I waited until after 11 (when the upstairs was supposed to be open, where we assumed the *real* metal and some dancing would be). The place was still locked, the bar in general a ghost town, and we gave up and headed home. Our overall sentiment is that most of the nighttime activity is drinking/socializing in a pub. I want to go dancing, dammit! No clubbing would be had for us in the UK at all it seemed (hence the cheesy nighttime walking tours).
Wed 4/13
We took our first of two day tours with Heart of Scotland, the first was a 12 hour one to Loch Ness and other places http://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk/lochness.htm . Our guide (a native born in St. Andrew) took great fun in mocking the English and we got the other side of the Stone of Scone Story http://members.aol.com/Skyelander/stone.html . We had seen the chair in London at Westminster Abbey where the stone sits and all sovereign leaders are crowned. Later we saw the “stone” at Edinburgh Castle (being returned to the Scottish in 1996). Our guide told us that most Scots believe that stone isn’t real – that the monks in charge of the original stone thought the English would come to steal it and gave it to the MacDonald clan to hide on the western islands somewhere for safe keeping (until such time as a Monarch for Scotland was crowned again). In its place the put what was essentially the toilet lid. If this story is right, it means that English monarchs for most of history were crowned sitting on the Scottish toilet lid! A very neat story indeed . She also told us all about something called http://www.irn-bru.co.uk/ (she gave Brian and us a bottle for celebrating our anniversary; Brian said it tasted something like liquid cotton candy). I guess it’s a good hangover remedy or something though. We were beat after going all over the highlands (though it was undescribingly beautiful, we just don’t get green space like that here) and after an Indian dinner at http://edinburgh.citikey.com/action/business/10074605/category/30287/current/4/max/36 (the plainest, most flavorless samosas I’ve ever had, but awesome spicy entrees) we headed to bed.
Thurs 4/14
Since we were doing a tour on Friday, Thursday was the day to squeeze in everything else we wanted to do. After breakfast we hit the http://www.explore-edinburgh.com/camera.html and got some great views from the city, including spying on unsuspecting people walking around in the street. We picked up final souvenirs we wanted for people and went into the Tron Kirk http://theoracle.co.uk/attractions_specific.cfm?AttractName=The%20Tron%20Kirk to check out their ‘old town visitor’s center’ and see more unearthed underground vaults. Next was the walk to http://www.scottishsport.co.uk/walking/arthurseat.htm which is 850 feet or so up in the air. It took us about 2 hours to go there and back, mostly because we couldn’t remember what side we came up on, came down on the complete other side of the hill, and had to walk back to the beginning to get our bearings of the town. After a lunch at a neat freaky pub http://www.pub-explorer.com/olpg/auldhoose/northberwick/ (finally had fish and chips, pretty good) we went back to the royal mile to check out the http://www.cac.org.uk/venues/museum_childhood.htm , finally went into http://www.stgilescathedral.org.uk/ to learn that the Belmont MA High School Choir will be performing there next week (neat), walked around the supposedly haunted Greyfriar’s Cemetery http://www.wyrdology.com/edinburgh/greyfriars-cemetery.html and due to having nothing else to do (and really interested in the old underworld of Edinburgh) did the tour of some old buried streets at http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/Templates/MKC_HomePage.asp?mID= . It was interesting, though the book we read about Edinburgh’s underground noted that in plague times Mary King’s Close was walled up and people were left in there to die our guide at the site denied it, saying that the wealthy of the city took care of the sick poor (out of ‘obligation’ for being a good Christian and getting to heaven). After another bland but not bad dinner (this time Italian) at http://theoracle.co.uk/lo/restaurant_specific.cfm?RestName=Ciao%20Ragazzi%20Trattoria we killed time walking around before our final ghost store focusing on Greyfriar’s Cemetery with http://www.blackhart.uk.com/cod/tours.html . Our guide was a cute redhead who has worked for the company for about 5 years and had a great sense of humor. She did some role playing with us (I got to play a Pict with her, where she said to the crowd “imagine we’re naked and covered in blue”, ready to charge Roman soldiers). She reiterated the haunted/underground and nasty histories of the town around the lack of town plumbing, witch hunts, plague, fires and poltergeists. Going into the Covenanter’s prison and into the haunted black tomb was scary and you definitely could feel a lot of nastiness had happened at that general place (the prison). I’m happy to say nobody was attacked in our time in the tomb of the Mackenzie poltergeist http://www.spiuk.net/casebook/ghosts_spirits/greyfriars_churchyard.htm . It was neat to go into the normally closed off area and see the cemetery at night when we had been there during the day. On the way out of the tour office one of the guides said “Hey, are you really in the 501st?” commenting on Brian’s large stormtrooper back patch on his flight jacket. We chatted a bit with them about Star Wars geeking and headed home for the night.
Fri 4/15
Our second Tour with Heart of Scotland was as good as the first
http://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk/heartlands_heroes.htm . The palace building at the Stirling Castle was closed (but it was still a neat place to see). A local art college is participating in weaving all of the tapestries in the Unicorn Hunt series! From there we hit the William Wallace Monument, where we were able to see his actual sword ½ ways up the tower. A good chunk of the day was spent hiking around Loch Lomand (you take the high road and I’ll take the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland before ye . . . ) . We met wild goats in the woods, took some amazing pictures and sat near the water for a bit before heading home. I feel like these two tours were able to give us a good picture of life in the highlands and of the Scottish/English history. An AMAZING dinner was had that night at http://www.redmarakesh.co.uk/ where we got to see a bit of a belly dancer perform before leaving. Don’t let cheesy front windows sway you from trying a place, seriously!
Sat 4/16 and Sun 4/17
Our train back to London was delayed due to a “fatality” on the tracks for an hour. We finally arrived at the Caswell Hotel in London again for the last night, had dinner at http://www.nandos.co.uk/ (decent, cheap), dessert and tea at http://www.caffenero.com/ and to bed early to get a 7:00 AM cab the next day. Flight back was uneventful, we’re very happy to be home and see our fuzzy kids again!
The experience (a long one)
Wed 4/6
After an uneventful flight we arrived in Heathrow and took the tube out to Victoria Station. Our first lesson about London: handicapped train stations are rare. We pulled our luggage up many flights of stairs, got a bit lost finding our hotel, and then had to lug said heavy luggage up 4 flights of narrow/twisted hotel stairs (the rest of the trip when lugging luggage we went the taxi route). Note to self: bring less clothing next time and utilize a Laundromat. The http://www.hotellondon.co.uk/ was as clean but small/shabby as expected but it would do. After dropping our luggage we found dinner around the corner http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-457.php . It was very good, remarkably like Erawan of Siam on Moody Street, which is always a good thing!
Thurs 4/7
After a complimentary continental breakfast we headed to do the hop on/off tour with http://www.theoriginaltour.com/ , sitting for 2 hours on the bus to first acquaint ourselves with the city and later checking out http://www.westminster-abbey.org/ and http://www.aboutbritain.com/TrafalgarSquare.htm in more detail. Since the http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/jserv/cafe/index.jsp wasn’t serving anything substantial for lunch by the time we got there (3ish) we checked out http://www.thesouklondon.co.uk/ nearby instead. Brian almost bought a “Mind the Gap” underground t-shirt http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/4761/90349 at an outdoor market around the corner but decided that was just a bit too touristy. We walked over to http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/ and got ½ price theater tickets for http://queenonline.com/wewillrockyou/ for that evening. After further exploring (and much getting lost in an upscale shopping area, soaked in the rain) we had time to get back to the hotel and have a quick change into nicer clothes before taking a cab to the theater in Soho (we were worried taking the tube would make us late). Brian and I both really loved the show, me being a big fan of musicals and rock music (and Queen in particular), Brian liking the music and ‘differentness’ of the whole thing, and the general theme of the show was a good one. When’s the last time you saw a standing ovation, people singing out loud and encores at a Broadway musical? We picked up a souvenir book and the soundtrack from it we loved it so much! We followed up our dinner feast of show popcorn/chocolate with bagels from a shop in Victoria Station before walking back to the hotel and falling into bed. It had been a busy day.
Fri 4/8
This was the day we did our bulk of London Sightseeing. After Breakfast (watching the Pope’s funeral on the TV) we tubed it out to the http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/tower_home.asp and spent a good 3 or so hours checking out the beefeaters, stonework, jewels and armor. This place had a very strong sense of oldness and sadness for me, more than I can express. Usually I don’t get a great sense for feelings of places but this was quite strong. Its at the Tower I first got a strong understanding of how really insignificant we all are in the grand scheme of things. More could be said too about this, but I’m trying to keep this brief. When we finished exploring a good (but expensive for what it was) lunch was had in their café and we headed on further adventures. We visited the http://www.vam.ac.uk/ and saw a good deal of stonework and tapestry (alas, a lot of rooms were closed for renovations). Since we were in the area, we also did some shopping, stopping of course at http://www.harrods.com/Cultures/en-GB/default.htm. I took the plunge and bought my first outfit from http://www.agentprovocateur.com (not work safe). Considering their prices and the exchange rate I paid almost $400 on a bra and panty set! It was tough, and Tiamatlady still can’t believe I did it, but I did. That was the one souvenir I wanted from London. The store clerks dress in little low cut/short dresses with bras and stockings showing and breathily sell things to helpless men in their store. The whole experience was a lot of fun and I’m glad I had the guts to finally do it. From Knightsbridge we’d head to the illustrious Camden Town for shopping. Brian picked up some New Rocks, and I saw lots of other goodies for sale but I was really hurting from that lingerie purchase. Still early enough to get in to their extended hours, we headed from Camden to the http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ for some Egyptian art; most notable was seeing the Rosetta stone. We consulted with our Rick Steve’s guide and found a neat restaurant nearby for Indian, http://www.sohospice.co.uk/ . The food was very flavorful, reasonably priced considering where we are, and had reasonable portions. It had been one crazy day!
Sat 4/9
After another continental breakfast we headed to Victoria Station on foot to meet up with our mini-coach. Today we’d go with Astral Tours on their http://www.astraltravels.co.uk/uk-london-tours/bath_stonehenge_tour.htm . Our guide was great, Lacock was lovely (the setting for some of the Harry Potter movies), the Baths were – VERY green. In Bath we had some time to kill so we had lunch at http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/ . With some small stops in between at scenic vistas and toilets we finally made our way to Stonehenge. Here among these massive 18 foot stones one feels even more insignificant, and I wonder what of the theories (if any) really explain the meaning of the things. We picked up a neat coffee table book in their gift shop about said theories, construction of stone circles, and other similar relics in the UK. After wandering around all over the place in Soho, Chinatown, Piccadilly we settled on a dinner at the Stockpot http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london/D39268.html . It was our first traditional British meal on the trip, mushy peas and all. We chatted a bit with the guys at the table next to us about what we were up to, and asked for suggestions of what to do later that night. Neither of us was feeling the http://www.slimelight.net/Sportal/ love and as far as we knew B-Side wasn’t happening. We couldn’t find anything of too much interest in http://www.timeout.com/london/ and our table mates didn’t have any good suggestions beyond ‘go to a pub’, though that’s less than exciting for a couple of non-drinkers (we’ll find a trend in our lack of night activities in Edinburgh later). After wandering a bit more (tired from our long day tour) we retired to the room – no clubbing was had in London.
Sun 4/10
This was our travel day to Edinburgh. After breakfast we took a cab to King’s Cross, took the obligatory photo at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/atlas/britain/atlas-b-platform.html , and boarded a train to Scotland with http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER . The ride was lovely, and with not a lot of effort we made it to Waverly station in about 4 or so hours and took the 10 minute cab ride to our inn, http://www.turret.clara.net/ . This place was SO much nicer than the Caswell in London (and cheaper too). The room was comfy, all of the beds had teddy bears on them, large bathroom, lots of amenities, full (yummy) breakfast, and helpful, informative innkeepers. Go here, seriously! It was about a mile walk from the Royal Mile with a bus stop around the corner if we were lazy. After getting in, resting and refreshing Brian and I celebrated our anniversary dinner at http://www.thewitchery.com/foodv3.html . This was actually the nicest place Brian and I have ever eaten at, and we enjoyed it quite a bit. I tried Monkfish for the first time (served *with* pork, weird). We savored dessert, Brian getting the crème Brule and finding that consisted of 3 small different flavored ones, complete with 3 spoons. We walked the Royal Mile a bit on the Old Town side before heading back to the Inn for some alone time, complete with some modeling of the Agent Provocateur goods (bow chicka bow wow).
Mon 4/11
Thus begins the world wind of the Scotland Holiday! First we walked to the top of the Royal Mile in Old town and spend a few hours in http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail?propertyID=PL_121 . After much drooling we ventured into the http://www.frommers.com/destinations/edinburgh/S31272.html . I pondered picking up an Anderson Tartan blanket but they didn’t have any (though they had tons of other Anderson stuff). Frankly too, the colors aren’t our thing. We’d leave Scotland buying no Anderson plaid (but, getting some Anderson jewelry and a write up of the history of the clan). A guide would later tell us that the Anderson’s came to Scotland from Scandinavia (as did many other clans), neat! We found http://www.hilarysbazaar.com/ and spent a good deal of time in there chatting and me trying on tribal outfits (I got a hip scarf and skirt – there were lot of lovely things but the exchange rate was killing us). She’s the only retail store for Middle Eastern dance stuff in the entire UK! I found her via the LJ belly dance community. We’d spend the rest of the day wandering around the old mile, going in every conceivable shop that sold kilts so Brian could finally pick one out (very simply, black – but real wool and made in Scotland as opposed to the Pakistani Polyester flammable knock-offs that were for sale for 50 pounds all over the place). Dinner was had at http://www.pizzaexpress.co.uk/indexm.htm (very California Pizza Kitchen like) and I had anchovies for the first time in a long time. We finished the night with a tour of the town and underground vaults with Auld Reekie http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/cityguide.cfm?type=tourist&vid=1753 . It was neat to go into the underground vaults under the South Bridge and learn a bit of their dark history. Later we’d go into underground streets and a related haunted cemetery. On a related note, we picked up a great book describing this history titled “The Town Below the Ground” http://www.blackhart.uk.com/bbja/index.html . Tiamatlady is borrowing it now but it will be up for grabs for others to check out (if you promise you’ll give it back). Later we’d take a haunted cemetery tour with the company started by the author.
Tues 4/12
On Tuesday we walked down to the other end of the Royal Mile and checked out the Palace and old Abby http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page559.asp . After browsing in shops on that end of the street we hit Clever Dick’s for lunch, more pub food but good http://www.belowthebeltfoodco.com/ . It was time to visit the Penguins at http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/ . They have the largest collection of penguins in the world (!) and allow them out for a penguin parade at 2:00 PM. We made it through about ½ of the zoo when we decided to get inside somewhere away from the cold and consistently coming rain. Bussing it back to the Princes Street, we checked out three of the free museums, the Royal Museum, Museum of Scotland and the Royal Portrait Museum http://www.nms.ac.uk/home/index.asp (I got to finally see some Degas, Renoir and Dali at the later). With time to kill we had muffins and hot chocolate at Chocolate Soup (behind the Tron Kirk, I can’t find a URL). We went home to dress for a night out at a metal club, had very bland (but still not bad) Mexican food at http://www.viva-mexico.co.uk/ and headed to a nearby coffee shop http://www.elephant-house.co.uk/elephant.htm (where JK Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter book) to meet up with Graham (Brian’s friend and old co-worker from Cambridge, UK) and his SO. The place was great, though unfortunately closed at around 10:00. We parted ways with Sarah and headed with Graham to check out the “Metalhedz” night at http://www.opiumrocks.com/ . OK, the place itself was comfy, drinks were cheap, but I wouldn’t call the Red Hot Chilli Peppers old mid-80’s Aerosmith and Jane’s Addiction metal (mind you I like all this music, but it’s not metal). We sat on the first floor chatting for a bit and Graham took off since he had to work in the morning. Brian and I waited until after 11 (when the upstairs was supposed to be open, where we assumed the *real* metal and some dancing would be). The place was still locked, the bar in general a ghost town, and we gave up and headed home. Our overall sentiment is that most of the nighttime activity is drinking/socializing in a pub. I want to go dancing, dammit! No clubbing would be had for us in the UK at all it seemed (hence the cheesy nighttime walking tours).
Wed 4/13
We took our first of two day tours with Heart of Scotland, the first was a 12 hour one to Loch Ness and other places http://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk/lochness.htm . Our guide (a native born in St. Andrew) took great fun in mocking the English and we got the other side of the Stone of Scone Story http://members.aol.com/Skyelander/stone.html . We had seen the chair in London at Westminster Abbey where the stone sits and all sovereign leaders are crowned. Later we saw the “stone” at Edinburgh Castle (being returned to the Scottish in 1996). Our guide told us that most Scots believe that stone isn’t real – that the monks in charge of the original stone thought the English would come to steal it and gave it to the MacDonald clan to hide on the western islands somewhere for safe keeping (until such time as a Monarch for Scotland was crowned again). In its place the put what was essentially the toilet lid. If this story is right, it means that English monarchs for most of history were crowned sitting on the Scottish toilet lid! A very neat story indeed . She also told us all about something called http://www.irn-bru.co.uk/ (she gave Brian and us a bottle for celebrating our anniversary; Brian said it tasted something like liquid cotton candy). I guess it’s a good hangover remedy or something though. We were beat after going all over the highlands (though it was undescribingly beautiful, we just don’t get green space like that here) and after an Indian dinner at http://edinburgh.citikey.com/action/business/10074605/category/30287/current/4/max/36 (the plainest, most flavorless samosas I’ve ever had, but awesome spicy entrees) we headed to bed.
Thurs 4/14
Since we were doing a tour on Friday, Thursday was the day to squeeze in everything else we wanted to do. After breakfast we hit the http://www.explore-edinburgh.com/camera.html and got some great views from the city, including spying on unsuspecting people walking around in the street. We picked up final souvenirs we wanted for people and went into the Tron Kirk http://theoracle.co.uk/attractions_specific.cfm?AttractName=The%20Tron%20Kirk to check out their ‘old town visitor’s center’ and see more unearthed underground vaults. Next was the walk to http://www.scottishsport.co.uk/walking/arthurseat.htm which is 850 feet or so up in the air. It took us about 2 hours to go there and back, mostly because we couldn’t remember what side we came up on, came down on the complete other side of the hill, and had to walk back to the beginning to get our bearings of the town. After a lunch at a neat freaky pub http://www.pub-explorer.com/olpg/auldhoose/northberwick/ (finally had fish and chips, pretty good) we went back to the royal mile to check out the http://www.cac.org.uk/venues/museum_childhood.htm , finally went into http://www.stgilescathedral.org.uk/ to learn that the Belmont MA High School Choir will be performing there next week (neat), walked around the supposedly haunted Greyfriar’s Cemetery http://www.wyrdology.com/edinburgh/greyfriars-cemetery.html and due to having nothing else to do (and really interested in the old underworld of Edinburgh) did the tour of some old buried streets at http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/Templates/MKC_HomePage.asp?mID= . It was interesting, though the book we read about Edinburgh’s underground noted that in plague times Mary King’s Close was walled up and people were left in there to die our guide at the site denied it, saying that the wealthy of the city took care of the sick poor (out of ‘obligation’ for being a good Christian and getting to heaven). After another bland but not bad dinner (this time Italian) at http://theoracle.co.uk/lo/restaurant_specific.cfm?RestName=Ciao%20Ragazzi%20Trattoria we killed time walking around before our final ghost store focusing on Greyfriar’s Cemetery with http://www.blackhart.uk.com/cod/tours.html . Our guide was a cute redhead who has worked for the company for about 5 years and had a great sense of humor. She did some role playing with us (I got to play a Pict with her, where she said to the crowd “imagine we’re naked and covered in blue”, ready to charge Roman soldiers). She reiterated the haunted/underground and nasty histories of the town around the lack of town plumbing, witch hunts, plague, fires and poltergeists. Going into the Covenanter’s prison and into the haunted black tomb was scary and you definitely could feel a lot of nastiness had happened at that general place (the prison). I’m happy to say nobody was attacked in our time in the tomb of the Mackenzie poltergeist http://www.spiuk.net/casebook/ghosts_spirits/greyfriars_churchyard.htm . It was neat to go into the normally closed off area and see the cemetery at night when we had been there during the day. On the way out of the tour office one of the guides said “Hey, are you really in the 501st?” commenting on Brian’s large stormtrooper back patch on his flight jacket. We chatted a bit with them about Star Wars geeking and headed home for the night.
Fri 4/15
Our second Tour with Heart of Scotland was as good as the first
http://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk/heartlands_heroes.htm . The palace building at the Stirling Castle was closed (but it was still a neat place to see). A local art college is participating in weaving all of the tapestries in the Unicorn Hunt series! From there we hit the William Wallace Monument, where we were able to see his actual sword ½ ways up the tower. A good chunk of the day was spent hiking around Loch Lomand (you take the high road and I’ll take the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland before ye . . . ) . We met wild goats in the woods, took some amazing pictures and sat near the water for a bit before heading home. I feel like these two tours were able to give us a good picture of life in the highlands and of the Scottish/English history. An AMAZING dinner was had that night at http://www.redmarakesh.co.uk/ where we got to see a bit of a belly dancer perform before leaving. Don’t let cheesy front windows sway you from trying a place, seriously!
Sat 4/16 and Sun 4/17
Our train back to London was delayed due to a “fatality” on the tracks for an hour. We finally arrived at the Caswell Hotel in London again for the last night, had dinner at http://www.nandos.co.uk/ (decent, cheap), dessert and tea at http://www.caffenero.com/ and to bed early to get a 7:00 AM cab the next day. Flight back was uneventful, we’re very happy to be home and see our fuzzy kids again!
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 02:49 pm (UTC)I'm adding this entry to my memories for my next trip that way. :)
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Date: 2005-04-18 03:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 03:08 pm (UTC)Thanks for writing that all up! It sounds like a fantastic trip.
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Date: 2005-04-18 07:26 pm (UTC)LIVE MODELING.
tee hee!
Date: 2005-04-18 09:06 pm (UTC)LIVE MODELING."
Heh ;) There are pictures of it (the wrapping job was simply amazing) in the last section or so of photos titled "loot" or "spoils" or something like that - basically my lingerie and Brian's new New Rock Boots :)
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Date: 2005-04-18 09:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 03:37 pm (UTC)"It's not that I'm shocked you bought a $400 bra set, it's that I'm shocked _YOU_ bought a $400 bra set."
And I forgot to tell you - At the Witchery I had the monkfish too! it was something Xani had got me hooked on, and when I saw it on the menu I jumped at the chance. Wheeee! I'm SO happy you enjoyed it.
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Date: 2005-04-18 03:50 pm (UTC)Turret House
Date: 2005-04-18 04:51 pm (UTC)M'Lord's family also came to Scotland via Scandanavia. The Finlays landed in Scotland and became part of the Farquharson clan. Geneology can bring interesting tidbits to light. We are lucky - the Farquharson tartan is one of the better ones. He wore it for our wedding.
Re: Turret House
Date: 2005-04-18 09:11 pm (UTC)Thanks for recommending them, they were awesome! We met a lot of people staying there that have been doing it for years.
We will definitely go back, probably staying in Glasgow the next time for something different (easier to explore the more northern highlands from inverness, or so I think I read).
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Date: 2005-04-18 06:44 pm (UTC)LOL
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Date: 2005-04-18 06:46 pm (UTC)You can get it at a place in Billerica.. www.britishdelights.com
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Date: 2005-04-18 07:28 pm (UTC)OT: British Delights is fantastic. We used to go there a lot when we lived in Billerica.
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Date: 2005-04-18 07:53 pm (UTC)stuff
Date: 2005-04-18 09:08 pm (UTC)Yeah, we are big dorks :)
"See you tomorrow night!"
Definitely! And, are we still on for Mark's show Friday? I forgot to give you $ before I left for tickets.
Re: stuff
Date: 2005-04-19 01:15 pm (UTC)Also, my debit card was stolen Friday, so I can't order them online..... I'm going to have to get them at the door on Friday, because I have to find a way to get to a bank before it closes so that I have some cash....
Re: stuff
Date: 2005-04-19 01:52 pm (UTC)I can order 2 tix for us if you want, just give me the details (you gave me the date, but I don't think I have the info on how to order tix). You can just give me the cash when you get it :)
Re: stuff
Date: 2005-04-19 01:59 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure there's a link to buy tix at www.longwoodplayers.org
Let me know if there isn't, and I'll ask Marc.
At the latest, I'll have money by Friday....We can exchange numbers tonight so we can maybe carpool?
Re: stuff
Date: 2005-04-20 01:38 pm (UTC)Okeydoke, the tickets are ordered. Whee!
See you on Friday :)
Re: stuff
Date: 2005-04-20 01:43 pm (UTC)God, I'm such a dork...lol
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Date: 2005-04-18 09:23 pm (UTC)Though I see Brian wasn't so keen about the hotel in london. Sorry 'bout that!
I want to hear more about it in person, though!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 10:55 pm (UTC)it did its job though :)
the funny thing was that the place in edinburgh was SO much cheaper, and so much nicer too. overall, i liked the scotland leg of the journey much more.